Your hidden authentic voice?
What are you hiding?
I'm sorry if you like using virtual backgrounds on video calls, but I just don't like them. Firstly, it is weird that your ears keep disappearing and I just don't know what it adds. I would rather see your messy room and then focus back on your face.
Authenticity doesn't mean you need to show everything, like the Bambi pyjamas you are wearing (talking about myself here, obvs!) but as Grant Leboff, CEO of Sticky Marketing Club said; "The real you is not putting out everything that is you, but rather putting out stuff that is REALLY you!"
If you are a cool, thoughtful, calm person, there is not need to fake excitement and impulsiveness.
But what is hidden and unknown sometimes tempts our curiosity and with uncertainly we often default to negativity, so people could be imagining much worse than you really have going on back there.
Authenticity is a luxury that not everyone can afford
Context is everything! To be authentic we need a culture and setting that is safe and appropriate for us to be our real selves. We need spaces in our teams and organisations that make it okay for people to bring their authenticity without fear.
Is it appropriate? This is a question we often ask ourselves when we think about authenticity. when I was at school I was one of very few non-white pupils in the school and I used to try to be like the rest, I would not talk about Indian food or festivals. In fact I would insist that my sandwiches at school were as boring and English as possible. Just a cheese sandwich, no layers of smell curry (which I loved at home).
It was too socially unacceptable and costly to be more different, than I already was.
I see smaller versions of this too… I wear high heals in environments where my height is not socially appropriate. Or does a Liverpool fan avoid talking football with an Everton fan?
Here are some questions to get you and your team thinking about your culture:
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”
Do people in your team feel free and safe to be their real self?
'Bring your whole self to work' might be harder for those who are not it the dominant group.
Do people and groups in your team and organisation feel comfortable to bring every part of their whole self into work?
Do you have a culture where different perspectives, backgrounds, opinions and experiences are valued?
Do people have experience of being judged, stereotyped or disadvantaged when they have shown their real self?
Do you have a culture of inclusion? And if not ... why?
I hope these questions help you explore if you have the space to allow for authenticity and seek to create and foster real voices.
For more tips on how to unlock your authenticity - Check our the previous blog ‘What is inside?’
Come and talk to me about getting more support in your team or getting 1-1 coaching to get you speaking more fluently in your authentic voice.
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